Outsourcing Execution in Transportation and Distribution

2013 ◽  
pp. 91-119
Author(s):  
Paulo Mendes ◽  
José Eugenio Leal
Keyword(s):  
Literature Review ◽  
Performance Management ◽  
Customer Service ◽  
Capital Investment ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Practical Experience ◽  
Effective Strategy ◽  
Company Strategy ◽  
Life Problems ◽  
The Right

Outsourcing can be a very effective strategy to increase operational performance and improve customer service; at the same time, that minimizes capital investment, freeing up capital to other important projects according to the company strategy that will increase revenue and profitability. However, when outsourcing is not performed in the right way, as there are several examples in the marketplace, it can also decrease performance and hurt customer service, reducing company competitiveness. Therefore, it is critical to establish a robust Outsourcing Execution Process to reduce risks of vendor failure due to lack of operational capability, performance management, and conflict of culture between 3PL and the company, just to enumerate a few possible real life problems. This chapter provides a broad and updated introduction of transportation and distribution operation, and based on literature review and practical experience from the authors, several best practices are reviewed to support outsourcing execution in transportation and distribution operation.

Privacy as Protection of the Incomputable Self: From Agnostic to Agonistic Machine Learning

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 83-121 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mireille Hildebrandt
Keyword(s):  
Machine Learning ◽  
Research Design ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Big Data Analytics ◽  
Validity And Reliability ◽  
Human Identity ◽  
The Right To Privacy ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Life Problems ◽  
The Right

Abstract This Article takes the perspective of law and philosophy, integrating insights from computer science. First, I will argue that in the era of big data analytics we need an understanding of privacy that is capable of protecting what is uncountable, incalculable or incomputable about individual persons. To instigate this new dimension of the right to privacy, I expand previous work on the relational nature of privacy, and the productive indeterminacy of human identity it implies, into an ecological understanding of privacy, taking into account the technological environment that mediates the constitution of human identity. Second, I will investigate how machine learning actually works, detecting a series of design choices that inform the accuracy of the outcome, each entailing trade-offs that determine the relevance, validity and reliability of the algorithm’s accuracy for real life problems. I argue that incomputability does not call for a rejection of machine learning per se but calls for a research design that enables those who will be affected by the algorithms to become involved and to learn how machines learn — resulting in a better understanding of their potential and limitations. A better understanding of the limitations that are inherent in machine learning will deflate some of the eschatological expectations, and provide for better decision-making about whether and if so how to implement machine learning in specific domains or contexts. I will highlight how a reliable research design aligns with purpose limitation as core to its methodological integrity. This Article, then, advocates a practice of “agonistic machine learning” that will contribute to responsible decisions about the integration of data-driven applications into our environments while simultaneously bringing them under the Rule of Law. This should also provide the best means to achieve effective protection against overdetermination of individuals by machine inferences.

scholarly journals An investigation into the effectiveness of public entities’ procurement practices

2014 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Moitswadi Mofokeng ◽  
Rose Luke
Keyword(s):  
Service Delivery ◽  
Performance Management ◽  
Customer Service ◽  
Best Practice ◽  
Supplier Management ◽  
Gauteng Province ◽  
Implementation Processes ◽  
Goods And Services ◽  
It Systems ◽  
The Right

The delivery of services through the procurement of goods and services requires proper strategic leadership and management processes. Inappropriate planning, under-spending of budgets and ineffective procurement form part of the root causes of poor service delivery, as this restricts the movement of resources to the right places. This study identified the leading procurement practices as: procurement strategy and leadership, the procurement process, human resource management, procurement information systems, supplier management and procurement performance management. These practices were then tested in public entities, mainly in Gauteng Province, South Africa, to determine the extent to which they are applied. The study found that there is a major divide between the perception of the level of application of the leading practices and actual implementation. Processes, skills, performance management, information technology (IT) systems and supplier management are applied inadequately or inappropriately. Most entities thus show a poor understanding of customer needs and there seems to be a general lack of customer focus. The study highlighted the best practice areas in which public entities are able to focus their efforts to better achieve excellent customer service and thus service delivery.

scholarly journals Kinetic energies in random vectors

2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 119-125
Author(s):  
Alexandru Daia ◽  
Stelian Stancu ◽  
Om Suchak
Keyword(s):  
Kinetic Energy ◽  
Data Collection ◽  
Literature Review ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Random Vectors ◽  
Design Data ◽  
Review Section ◽  
Life Problems ◽  
Collection Methods ◽  
Study Application

Abstract This paper uses the Onicescu Coefficient concept, which is the sum of squared probabilities, through mathematical formulations to show the kinetic energy in random vectors. The paper has a brief introduction section that addresses the background of the study, the purpose of the study, and its objective. The literature review section provides an in-depth industrial application of mathematical formulations in solving real-life problems. The paper contains a methodology section highlighting the study design, data collection methods, and analysis section, highlighting some of the keywords used in locating resources and significant databases that provided the study with information. Later, the study takes the result and discussion sectional approach to present the experiments’ findings backed with facts from previous studies by other scholars in the same field. Lastly, the paper concludes with a section recapping the critical points of this study and study application in real-life, concluding with a list of references utilized by this study.

scholarly journals “The Greenhouse of the Future”: Using a Sponsored Competition in a Capstone Course

HortScience ◽  
1998 ◽  
Vol 33 (3) ◽  
pp. 476f-477
Author(s):  
Ricky M. Bates ◽  
David A. Baumbauer
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
New Technology ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Practical Experience ◽  
Capstone Course ◽  
Capstone Courses ◽  
Life Problems ◽  
The Future ◽  
Energy Retention ◽  
Environmentally Sound

Horticulture students often lack practical experience integrating information from diverse sources to solve complex real-life problems. Capstone courses seek to remedy this by giving students an opportunity to demonstrate a range of workplace skills such as teamwork, effective communication, and critical thinking. Sponsored competitions provide educators with an active-learning framework into which the goals of a capstone course can be developed. In 1996 the U.S. Dept. of Energy and the Epcot Center announced the “Greenhouse of the Future” competition. The competition sprang from an interest by sponsoring agencies to promote the development of new environmentally sound technologies for greenhouse food production and was open to all U.S. undergraduate students. The competition encouraged the formation of interdisciplinary student teams under the direction of a faculty advisor and offered the winning entry a $10,000 research grant and the opportunity to display the new technology at the Epcot Center in Florida. The M.S.U. entry focused on the development of season-extending energy retention systems designed for small greenhouses, production testing of cool-season, stress-tolerant crops such as Mesclun salad greens, and the use of an environmentally neutral growing system. Sponsored competitions present an important tool for achieving certain educational objectives and may be one way to help students think on a higher level. Encouragement and development of similar competitions within the green industry is needed. Competition guidelines, components of the M.S.U. winning entry, and integration of the competition into the capstone course “Greenhouse Management” will be discussed.

scholarly journals How much evidence is in evidence-based policymaking: a case study of an expert group of the European Commission

2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 45-63
Author(s):  
Jean Philippe Pierre Décieux
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
European Commission ◽  
Qualitative Content Analysis ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Expert Group ◽  
Documentary Analysis ◽  
Life Problems ◽  
The Right

Knowledge co-production is a solution-oriented approach to analysing real-life problems such as making the right decision in a given scenario. The most popular examples come from evidence-based policymaking contexts. Political decisions made in this way rely on specialist expertise co-produced in organisations that can be characterised as Hybrid Fora. However, despite the rise in popularity of Hybrid Fora and evidence-based policymaking processes, there are only a few studies that analyse the influencing factors of knowledge co-production in these contexts. The case study presented here addresses this new area of research through a documentary analysis and 11 expert interviews, both analysed via qualitative content analysis. First, the study reconstructs how knowledge is produced within an Expert Group of the European Commission. Second, it reflects how the produced knowledge is de facto included as “evidence” into the decision-making processes of the relevant policy area. The results of this study show that in this expert group, pragmatic and extra-scientific criteria such as specific stakes and interests as well as the group hierarchy controlled the process of knowledge co-production. Moreover, it also seems that knowledge produced by the interaction of experts within the examined Expert Group has a more symbolic, policy-orientated function, rather than being specifically used as decision-making evidence.

scholarly journals Causal Reasoning Application in Smart Farming and Ethics: A Systematic Review

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 10-19
Author(s):  
Shkurte Luma-Osmani ◽  
Florije Ismaili ◽  
Bujar Raufi ◽  
Xhemal Zenuni
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Literature Review ◽  
Paradigm Shift ◽  
Causal Reasoning ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Reasoning Problem ◽  
Life Problems ◽  
Smart Farming ◽  
Research Questions ◽  
Smart Agriculture

In the last decade, there has been paradigm shift on causal reasoning, the discovery of causal relationships between variables and its potential to help understand and solve different complex real-life problems. The aim of this paper is to present a systematic review of relevant studies related to causal reasoning, with emphasis on smart agriculture and ethics. The paper considers the literature review as an answer to several research questions that intend to broadly recapitulate and scrutinise the causal reasoning problem in smart agriculture as well as research ethics, viewed from diverse lookouts.

Factors affecting employee performance: a systematic literature review

2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 329-351 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eli Ayawo Atatsi ◽  
Jol Stoffers ◽  
Ad Kil
Keyword(s):  
Literature Review ◽  
Performance Management ◽  
Systematic Literature Review ◽  
Organizational Citizenship Behavior ◽  
Employee Performance ◽  
Relevant Literature ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Work Behavior ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Search Terms

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to synthesize the fragmented literature on organizational citizenship behavior (OCB), leader–member exchange (LMX), learning, innovative work behavior (IWB) and employee performance across different countries, disciplines and organizations, thereby broadening the literature breath and making gap identification comprehensive. Second, it provides information on how much studies have been concentrated on Africa with the goal of provoking scholarly work in a unique cultural setting on the interrelatedness of these concepts.Design/methodology/approachRelevant literature search was undertaken using key search terms, “employee performance,” “OCB,” “LMX,” “IWB,” “individual learning” and “team learning.”FindingsThe findings show positive relationships between the behaviors and employee performance. They also reveal an interesting diversity in the study across multidisciplinary fields holding both cultural and contextual significance for academia and practitioners.Research limitations/implicationsThe limitation of literature to peer-reviewed journals from the authors’ university library might have missed important information not in this domain. Further studies must make use of additional search terms and engines excluded from this study to provide a more comprehensive analysis.Practical implicationsThe paper has important managerial implications for practitioners. The analysis can support the understanding of employee performance from a broader and more diverse view points; and help in providing insight into real-life opportunities, constraints and solutions in enhancing performance management.Originality/valueThis systematic literature review highlights important knowledge gaps which need to be explored especially in the African and Ghanaian contexts.

scholarly journals The Greenhouse of the Future: Using a Sponsored Competition in a Capstone Course

1998 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 609-613
Author(s):  
Ricky M. Bates ◽  
David A. Baumbauer
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Practical Experience ◽  
Workplace Skills ◽  
Capstone Course ◽  
Learning Framework ◽  
Capstone Courses ◽  
Life Problems ◽  
The Future ◽  
National Competition

Horticulture students often lack practical experience integrating information from diverse sources to solve complex real-life problems. Capstone courses seek to remedy this by giving students an opportunity to demonstrate a range of workplace skills such as teamwork, effective communication, and critical thinking. Sponsored competitions provide educators with an active-learning framework into which the goals of a capstone course can be developed. The Greenhouse of the Future competition allowed undergraduate students to conceptualize, develop, and prototype innovative greenhouse designs in a national competition venue. This article explains the guidelines of the Greenhouse of the Future competition and discusses how the competition was integrated into the capstone course Greenhouse Management.

The Psychologist in the Medical School: An Example of Solving Real-Life Problems

1970 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matisyohu Weisenberg ◽  
Carl Eisdorfer ◽  
C. Richard Fletcher ◽  
Murray Wexler
Keyword(s):  
Medical School ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Life Problems
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